Records of the Writers' Voice and Writers'
Community programs, initiatives of the YMCA's arts and humanities program,
including numerous cassette and video tapes of readings and interviews with
well-known authors.

Art activities have played a role in YMCA programs throughout much of
the movement's history. Arts and crafts activities were common at after-school
programs and YMCA camps around the world. These early art programs included
student performances, photography clubs, and painting courses, among other
activities; however, these programs were created by the initiative of
individual YMCA associations, rather than any concerted effort by the national
movement.

In 1982, the YMCA national office hosted a consultation on the arts by
inviting fifty associations with arts programs to present their work and
program details to the larger YMCA movement. The next year, the YMCA held the
National Seminar on the Arts, a three-day conference in Chautauqua, New York,
which led to the creation of the YMCA's Arts Week and a comprehensive arts
training program at four associations in the United States.

The Writer's Voice program, perhaps the most notable arts program of
the YMCA, was conceived of by a New York writer named Jason Shinder in 1981.
The program was based out of New York's West Side YMCA, and offered writing
workshops and readings by prominent authors, including Allen Ginsberg, Isaac
Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut and many others. In 1986, the Writer's Voice was merged
with the Writers Community, a community-based writing initiative that would
eventually place authors-in-residence to live and work in YMCAs. Following a
$2.75 million grant from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund in 1991, the
program was expanded to become the YMCA National Writer's Voice program, which
led to the establishment of six literacy centers around the country.

Arts activities grew in popularity at YMCAs throughout the 1980s and
1990s. Some associations started to offer art activities for members, while
others were even opening arts centers staffed with art and dance directors.
YMCA camps and associations also offered residence programs for artists who
wished work in YMCAs by teaching and creating art. In 1998, the YMCA announced
that arts and humanities would become a “core program area” of the movement.
Jason Shinder – the founder of the YMCA National Writer's Voice – was chosen to
direct the YMCA's new arts and humanities program.

As schools and communities cut funding for arts programs, the YMCA has
stepped up to fill the void by aspiring to become the largest and most
influential arts provider for kids and adults in the United States. Since 1998,
American YMCA arts programs have increased 29 percent on average annually, with
more than 1,100 YMCAs claiming to be “arts-friendly” in 2012. In addition, the
YMCA National Writer's Voice program has grown to include more than thirty
YMCAs.

[ Historical information was adapted from the collection, as well as
from "Gibson Foundation Supports YMCA Arts and Humanities Initiatives"
(http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gibson-foundation-supports-ymca-arts-and-humanities-initiatives-56281592.html)
; "Laurel Blossom: The Writer's Community"
(http://www.laurelblossom.com/writers-community.html) ; and "YMCA of Long
Island: Cultural Arts"
(http://www.ymcali.org/Association/Programs/Cultural-Arts.aspx) ]

The arts and humanities collection is composed of material concerning
the YMCA National Writer's Voice, the chief program of the YMCA's arts and
humanities initiative. The collection ranges in date from 1977 to 1999. Earlier
material from the collection was created by the Writers Community, a community
writing workshop that merged with Writer's Voice in 1986. The Writer's Voice
program was based out of New York's West Side YMCA since 1981; however, the
program expanded nationally in 1991.

The collection contains a variety of material, including
correspondence, applications, budget records, bank records, fundraising
material, grant proposals, brochures, newsletters, poems, stories, manuscripts,
reviews, newspaper articles, educational material on writing, volunteer/members
lists, and reviews and information on workshops, panels, and lectures. Much of
the correspondence concerns fundraising, publicity, and requests for writers to
present at events. The correspondence of Jason Shinder, the founder of Writer's
Voice and the first director of the YMCA's arts and humanities program, is also
included in the collection.

Notably, the collection contains numerous VHS and cassette recordings
of famous writers, journalists, and musicians who presented their work at
Writers Community/Writer's Voice events. These individuals include Lou Reed,
Walter Cronkite, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut,
Nora Ephron, John Updike, Margaret Atwood, and the music group Crosby, Stills,
Nash, and Young. Some correspondence from these individuals can also be found
within the collection.

This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States
(Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright,
ownership, and to obtain all the necessary permissions prior to the
reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series
here]. YMCA Arts and Humanities Program Records. Kautz Family YMCA
Archives. University of Minnesota.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.

Processing Information:

Processed as part of Fast Processing Project I, 2008. Material has
been minimally processed. Folder descriptions may be general and material has
been only loosely grouped into series.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog
of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about
related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these
headings.

E-mail questions or comments to: ymcaarch@umn.eduURL:
http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/html/ymca/yusa0043.phtml |Last revised:
December 13, 2012
Please credit the Kautz Family YMCA Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries
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